If Redding does land the ride, it will be interesting to see how he and Smith progress relatively to their more experienced teammate, in Smith's case, and to the slowest Ducati ridden by a seasoned rider, in Redding's, since his team seems to be going to have two rookies.

Scotty has nothing to lose by getting on a Ducati (possibly Iannone too) as his size means he cant regularly beat Microbes on a 600 Moto2. There's no sign of a minimum weight of bike & rider, which is odd when you think there's a control engine - he's at a huge disadvantage at 74KG against the likes of Marquez. SR's getting on for a whole sack of spuds heavier than MM & DP!

At least there's plenty of poke in the MotoGP stuff, generally more than they can put down to the ground, so Scott's weight disadvantage is at least not as big a hurdle, and maybe he can compensate as well with lever length and strength.

At least the Ducati is still a prototype and not a CRT, so why not take a punt and get into the premier class I reckon!

@ Don-RInteresting (though not really all that important I realise) to read your post that Iannone was a bit slower than Scot on the Ducati test. I really rate Iannone and enjoy watching him ride the Moto2 - he's a bit 'hot or cold' but when he's on form he can really go! I thought maybe he'd edge Scott in the test, so well done Mr Redding!

I'd be interested in your take on the idea that Dovi'd be courted for the factory Duke seat, and whether or not it'd suit his style. Rossi depends greatly on braking and front feel and turn in we are told - aren't those Dovi's strengths too? If so, does that mean its a bigger risk for Dovi than Cal to go to Duke? Is is possible that a WSB rider-style may actually be a benefit (e.g. Cal or Ben), or doesn't it matter? Maybe no-one (not even Ducati) has a clue what style works (except maybe one C Stoner)?

If he fosters any hope of one day being a champion he will go straight to WSBK! Until MotoGP get its **** together and puts forth a stable rules package that all of the manufacturers will embrace it is going to be status quo. No doubt Scott could do well straight away wrestling a WSBK and he would have a lot more fun doing it. The Ducati is a career death sentence. Just look at all of the guys who have said “my style will suit that thing well” and “I know I can ride it like Stoner”. All of them are either gone or going. Nicky is just too stubborn to accept the mediocrity that Bologna is hell bent on providing. Ducati is suffering the same crippling fear of change that Aprilia had with the cube. “The bike is powerful, no”? Smith will be the most hated and gunned for dude in the MotoGP paddock next season! He will go down in history as being the guy who did the least to land in the premier motorcycle racing series ever!

@ Grandissimus. Agreed that Brad seems to be the new Stoner for Trolls to love to hate. His only chance that they'll go & hide back under their bridges is if he exceeds expectations and goes well (I've noticed that the 'Ellison will do nothing & is cr*p' trolls have slunk away a bit since JE's fortunes picked up a bit). Personally, I think Brad is better than most here seem to reckon. I'm not saying 'future champ' by any means, but he works hard and is utterly determined and never, ever gives up (sorta like a ginger Nicky Hayden in that respect). I'm betting he'll surprise a few people - I'm relying on Herve (being the wily ole fox that he is) having good reasons for his choice.

It's interesting to me that Ducati are making a beeline for those riders who are deemed to be ragged or loose on the bike, (Redding, Crutchlow). It's almost an admission that they can't build a motorcycle that responds to a smooth style. It seems to me that they're just looking for an aggressive style in the hope that another Stoner-like affinity will magically come about if they sign that kind of rider.

Dovi does have a a provisional offer from Ducati, but it's not clear who would be favourite for the ride between him and Cal if Rossi leaves. I personally think the Gresini Honda might be a better fit for Dovi, given that his style is quite similar to Rossi's but then he's a very methodical guy when it comes to setup, so who knows?

I think most would agree that it'll take more than change of rider to improve Ducati's fortunes anyway.

Reddings' time was over two days of testing , Iannonehas one more day to go tommorow.

Everyone can compare all they want , yet the characterics from bike to bike seem to play a major part. I have a hunch Redding is the kind of rider which could do fairly well on the Ducati.Although it seems to me Ducati is a bit stubborn in dealing with rider feedback , this effort/plan of having a "junior" team seems like they are making a greater effort to develop the bike , which is a good thing ( with or without Rossi there )

We can't forget that Audi now own Ducati. What will they do with the motogp team? You have to assume that that they will keep it going, but they'll not be satisfied with the results of the last 2 years. That would favor any future rider. Seems to me that their only option is to continue the process they've already started of making their bike more like the Yam and Honda. At some point they'll have to change the engine to a 90 degree configuration and address the front end loading problems and handling in general. Redding's size and style seem to fit nicely with all those points, but as someone has said before, many have tried, only one has succeeded.

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